Control apparatus for heating systems



July 6,1926. 1,591,140

P. B. PARKS CONTROL APPARATUS FOR HEATING SYSTEMS Filed Feb. 19, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 6 1926. 1,591,140

P. B. PARKS CONTROL APPARATUS FOR HEATING SYSTEMS Filed Feb. 19, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 July 6 1926.

- 1,591,146 P. B. PARKS I com'nop APPARATUS FOR HEATING svswms Filed Feb. 19, 1925 Y s Sheets-Sheet a rm s Patented July 6, 1926. I v v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PAUL 1B. PARKS, 01' OAK PARK, IL LINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO VAPOR CAB HEATING COH- PANY, INQ, OI CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

I common Arman-us rongnarme stamens. Application filed February 19, 1925. Serial n. 10,292.

My invention relates to an automatically following description of the preferred emcontrolled heating system adapted particbodiments of the invention illustrated in the ularly for the heating of railway cars accompanying drawings. 55 of the general character of that shown -In the drawings:-

,7 and described in United States Patent No. Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a car 1,440,701, to E. A. Russell, Janua'ry'2, 1923, heatin system'pro'vided with the improved and in the pending application of Paul B. contro arrangements of my present inven- Parks and John Van Vulpen for heating tion. I f "0 system, filed May 19, 1924, Serial No. Fig. 2 is a plan view of one of the circuit 640,133, which latter seeks to cover certain breakers showing the same in circuit closimprovements upon the apparatus of the ing position' i I Russell patent referred to. In apparatus: ig. 3 is a similar view of the device with of the character indicated, the radiator the contacts separated. valve is opened and closed by alternately Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 4-4 of.

energized solenoids controlled in response. Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arto the action of thermostatic med hanism rows. located in the car, and a limit switch ispro- Fig. 5 is a sectional Flew f a m i vided operated by the rotational movements form .of circuit breaker. of the radiator valve for cutting off the. Fig. 6 isa side elevation of another modcurrent from the solenoids as soon as the ification.

valve movements are completed. The pur- Fig. 7 is a plan view of the circuit breakpose of the limit switch is to save current er shown in Fig. 6. vand, more particu arly, to prevent the sole- Fig. 8 is an .end view, looking from the" noid coils from being burned out by the Ii%l"lt at Figs 6 and 7-. continued flow of current therethrough. w ig.9 is a perspective view of a portion Some trouble, however,- has been expeof the adjustable clampfor pivotally suprienced in the functioning of the limit porting the mercury tube. switch due to its proximity to the valve and Referring to the drawings 10 designates 60 its liability to injury through leakage of a radiator, 11 a valve for controlling the steam from .the valve: and with a view to circulation of heating medium through the improving the durability and reliability of radiator, and 12 and 13 the coils of a pair the apparatus I-have devised a system of 'of solenoids having a common core 14 remotecontrol for the valve motor (the adapted to give rotational movements to $5 solenoid coils referred to) which eliminates the valve body 15, which latter is connected the limit switch, the switch being replaced with the core by an operating lever 16. 17 by'cir cuit breakers in the circuits of the designates a high temperature thermostat solenoid coils. Inasmuch as the valve may and 18 a'low temperature thermostat. These be movedby hand, in thge case of remote con-1 thermostats areput into control of the heat- 9 trol, either through.ignorance or maliciousing s stem selectively by means, of a switchly, with the possibility of disab 'ng the 'ining evice 19 which is operated through the tended automatic control iefiected through appearance and disappearance of air presfiuctuations in car temperature, the circuit sure in one of the air train lines of the car.

breakers of my present invention are de-- 21) .is a relay, the ,flow of current through 95 vised so as to ,efiect a return of the valvewhich is controlled by either the high temand solenoid core to their proper positions perature thermostat or the low temperature within a short time after. any movement thermostat, as the case may be, for switchvof the same by hand away from said posiing current to and from the solenoid coils tions.

The principal object of my invention is described, the apparatus is substantially the to provide a valve controlling mechanism same as that disclosed in the Russell .pat-

which will function in/this way. Further ent above referred to." However, the limit incidental objects will be referred to in the switch of the patented apparatus is omitted 12 and 13 in alternation. So far as thus of insulating material contact 24 and with a p ate 25.. 26 is a rocking member of angular configuration pivoted to-the base-plate at 27. A contact arm 28 is pivoted at 29 to the rocking member 26. The contact arm is adapted to be drawn against the fixed contact 24 by means of a pair of coiled springs 30, 31 having straight extensions 32, 33 engaging the outer end of the contact arm-28 and straight extensions 34, 35 engaging the remote end of rocking member 26. I The remote end of the rocking member moves between sipaced studs 36, 37. A

.stop 38 is also provi ed for the contact arm 28. 4 A bimetallic bar 39 is secured at one end to an upstanding lug 40 on a plate 41 mounted on base 23 and this heat sensitive element is surrounded by a resistance element 42 having an electric connection 43 at one end leading to plate 25 and a' connection 44 at the other end with the bimetallic bar '39. The

free end of the latter is connected byflexible member 26. The ar engages a notch wire 45 with the rockm free end of the bimetallic v 46 in the end of the rocking-member. The

bar 39 is constructed so that when heated by passage of current through the resistance element 42 it is warped in a direction to rock member 26 against the action of springs 30, 31 and bring about a separation of contact arm 28 from the fixed contact 24. Becauseof the elbowlibend 47 in the'rocking member contact stud ZSomarm 28 has awipmg move-' ment over contact stud 49 on the fixed-com v tact plate 24 when the circuit is made or broken. This tends to keep the contacts clean. 1

I The 'paratus as shown in- Fig.

I evacuated over the follow circuit: batte 53, relay 20, mg ry lay 2Qfbein I b n noid operation of the a paratus as above describe is asifollows: Tli e parts'of 'the. ap- 1 indicate operat1 on of the heating system under control of hlgh temperature thermostat 17 with the temperature of the carbelow that which this thermostat is intended to maintain Hence tllie' radiatgr 10 is race! d p y pi 0, water of con ensatiombein P6 from the radiator throughpipg flowing through'the relay 20 52, wire and wire 54to thebattery. -Reenergized, fits armature is raised e bridging member 55 against the 11 'per contacts 56, 57. closes acircuit t ough the circuit breaker-21 and solecoil" :12 as follows: contact 56,;bridging member 55, contact 57, wire 59, circuit maker 21, wire 60, coil 12,

.51. Current is 5 Tgetilto wire 54, and thence. to the battery.

circuit, however, is-

only when e e r 'Pr.

. valve pipe 51 without r contact arm 28 is in the position shown in Flg. 2. Assuming that t evalve has just been moved toits position as shown in Fig. 1,

the continuedflow of currentthroughi'the revalve movement but prevents any undue heating of the solenoid coil. With the circuit broken at this will eventually cool and warp back to its original position,-'bringing about, necessarily, a re-closmg of the circuit-last traced. Preferably the construction of the. bar is such that this cooling requires a considerably longer period of tlme than theheatin of the bar.

he circuit through the solenoid coil 12 is '80 point the bimetallic bar" closed at intervals for brief periods so that if the valve body 15 of valve 11 is moved by hand, or otherwise, ing movementof the bridging member. 55 of the relay 20, itwill be soon after returned to its pro er position through energization of solenoi 12. v

The relay 20 is deener'gized so as the current to solenoid 13 when the mercury column 62 of the high temperature thermowithout c'orrespondto switch stat 17 reaches-the contact 63. This closes a circuit through'the high temperature thermostat as follows: battery 52, wire 53, wire 64, contact 63, mercury column 62;wire 65, wire 54 to battery The circuit through the relay coil is in parallel yvith the high temperature thermostat circuit just traced, and as the resistance of the relay circuit is much higher than the resistance of the thermostat circuit the relay coil will be de rived of most of its current so as to drop the ridg- .ing member 55 onthe lower air of contacts 66, 67. Current now flows t rough the 'cir cult of solenoid 13 as follows: battery 52,

wires 53, 58, 68, contacts 66, ber 55, contact 67, wire 69, thermal circuit breaker 22, wire 70, solenoid 13 andwires'71, 61 and 54, to the battery. With the circuit breaker 22 closed (and the device will be bridging memclosed intermittently at'definite intervals 'of' I no gized so as ,to move the valve body 15 of 11' to a, position in which steam isshort supply pipe 50' to; return passing through the radiawhich are placed in comcircuited from tor, the ends of 0 rates, in the same way great length), solenoid 13 will beener-- munication withthe drain portof'the valve wire 53;. wire 58, 11.- 5 2-2It will be understood thatcircuit breaker 89 at the end opposite sition without a corresponding shifting of the bridging member 25.

,. When thelow temperature thermostatis in control of thesy'stem the operations arethe same as those described in connection with the control by the high temperature thermostat 17 except that the radiator valve 11 is closed at a lower temperature.

That is, the high temperature thermostat 17 may be set to ,mainta1n-a-temperature in the car of 70 Fahrenheit; while the low temperature thermostat, em 10 ed whenthe car is standing in the yar or example, may be designed to maintain a temperature of closing. at the selector switch, a circuit through the low temperature thermostat as follows: battery 52, wires 53, 64, 78, contact 76, roller 79 on selector switch-arm 75, contact 77, wire 80, contact 81 of the .low temperature thermostat 18, mercury column 82 (assuming that the mercury column has reached contact 81) wires 83, and 54 to the battery. The low tem' erature thermostat circuit is now in paralle .with. the relay ci-rcuit so that the relay is energized or deen- 'ergized, dependent upon whether the low temperature thermostat circuit is open or closed at the thermostat.

Fig. 5 shows a modified construction of able contact carried on an arm 87 pivoted-at about its middle on a stationary stud 88, the arm 87 preferably carr ing a counterwei ht om contact 86. e bimetallic bar 90 is fixed at one end by a screw 91 to .the' bracket 92 and provided with the resistance element 93 electrically connected by wire 94 to the binding post 95 and by-wire 96 to the contact plate 97 on arm'87.- The free end of the bimetallic bar I the purpose of closing and opemng the contacts with a snap action. The bimetallic bar 90 is formed so that it warps'upwardly, that is, inthe direction to separate the contacts, when heated.- In cooling the bar warps in the opposite direction so as to bring the contacts together.

Referring now to the modification shown in Figs. 610 9 inclusive, 101 is the insulating base on which is mounted the binding posts- 102 and 103, to which are connected the leads 59 and 60, M69 and 70, as shown. in Fig. 1.

The bimetallic bar 104- surrounded by the -the base 101, as best shown in et 100 for resistance coil or heating element 105, is

mounted at one end 106 on a lug 107 projecting upwardly from the insulating base 101. An adjusting screw 108, projects through the bar 104 near its fixed end 106, and is screwed into base 101 at its lower end. The amount of upward warping movement of. the bi- .metallic bar 104 when heated, as hereinafter described, is limited by suitably adjusting the screw 108.

p A hollow tube 109, closed at both ends, is

mounted at approximately its central portion'in a supporting bracket 110, pivoted at 111 in a yoke 112, extending upwardly from ig. 8. Bracket- 110 comprises two similar semicylindrical' members, each having radially extending flanges 132, which are clamped together to secure the two halves of the bracket about the tube 109. By) loosening the screw 113, the tube 109 may e longitudinally in bracket 110. One of the members forming the bracket 110 (as best vshown in Fig. 9), is provided at its lower end with a lateral extension 114, terminating in .a right angled extension 115 having a adjusted slot 116 in which is engaged the free end I of bimetallicbar 104. v

A pair of electrical contact wires 117 and 118 are mounted in the two ends of tube 109 and project centrally into the tube. \Vire 117 is much longer than wire 118,

and the inner ends of these Wires are bent downwardly, as indicated at 119, and spaced slightly apart, near one end of tube l0 9. A globule of mercury 120 is carried within the tube 109 and adapted to run from one end of the tube to the other, as the tube is inclined about the axis 111. When this globule of mercury is at the right hand end of the tube, as shown in Fig. 6, the downturned ends of wires 117 and 118 will be connected by this body of mercury. When the tube is tipped the otherway, so that-thc globule will runto the left hand endoj f ithe tube, the ends 119 of these wires will .be out of contact with one another, and there will be no electrical connection therebetw'een. Wire 118 is connected with blndmg 103 by means of "lead 71113121, and wire 117 post102." v

A bracket124, projecting upwardly from post base 101, carries an adjusting screw for limitingthe tiltingvmovementof tube 109 in the direction which breaks the c1rcu1t.- A rubber-cap 126 surrounds this end of tube 109, to contact with screw 125 and serves both as a shock-absorbing and insulating medium.

The operation of this form of the appara tus is much the same as in the modifications previously described. When current flows through the device the resistance element 105 will causethe heat sensitive bar 104to warp upwardly, and since the free end of this bar 1s in engagement with the slotted lower ,end of pivoted bracket 110, the tube 109 will be tilted, toward the left, (Fig. 6)

jso'that the mercury globule 120 will run to the left hand end of the tube, thereby breaking the contact between ends 119 of wires-- 117 and 118. After the circuit is broken, the heat sensitive bar 104 will gradually cool bit and gradually return to its normal p'dsitlon, as shown in Fig. 6, whereupon the globule 120 will run back to the right hand end of the tube and again complete the circuit through this device. Although the tilting movement of tube 109 in either direc-' tion will take place quite slowly, the mercury globule 120 will run suddenly and rapidly from one endof the tube to the other when the critical angle has been reached.

thereby giving the desired snap action" to the circuit breaker. The sensitiveness of bimetallic bar 104 may be adjusted bysuitably turning the screw 108, andthe balance of the mercury-tube109 may be adjusted by moving the tube longitudinaly through the bracket 110.

The specific forms of circuitbreakers hereinabove disclosed are not claimed in this application, except as a component part of the automatically controlled heating. system, but are claimed in a divisional application, Serial Number 52,112, filed 'August 21,- 1925. I

directions to the valve," and means in each through the radiator,

.magnet circuit automatically actuated by the flow of current through the circuitfor intermittently making and breaking the circuit. 2. In a heating system, the combination of a radiator, a valve to control circulation through theradiator, an electric motor to operate the. valve, automatically operating I means for making and breaking the circuit, j through the motor in response {to temperathe flow of current therethroughfor inter, I

' 10. a heating system,"=the combination ture changes, and a" circuit breaker in y the motor circuit, actuated thermostatically by mittently opening 1 and closing. the circuit through the moto'nvt .1 3. In a heating system, combination of a radiator, a valve to contiol circulation" v a motor comprising"; pan of alternately "energized-electric magnets for giving movements in GP j, it k trons to the valye,'and a eah1mag.-- net. circuit wuichnis termittently for opening and closing the circuit.

4. In a heating system, the combination of a radiator, a valve to control circulation through the radiator, an electric motor. to operate, the valve, and a circuit breaker comprising a heat'sensitive element heated by flow of current through the motor circuit .for intermittently opening' and closing said circuit. 1

. -5.- In a heating system, the combination of a radiator, .a valve to control the circulation through the radiator, a motor com-v prising a pair of alternately energized .electro-magnets for givin movements in opposit directions to the valve, and a circuit breaker in the circuit of eachof said ma nets adapted to intermittently-open and close said circuit.

6. In a heating system, the combinatibn. of a radiator, a valve. to control the 'circulation through the radiator, a motor compris-- a ing a pair of alternately energized electromagnets for giving movements in opposite directions to the valve, and a circuit breakerin the circuit of each magnet comprising a heat sensitive element heatedby flow of current through said circuit for intermittently opening and closing said circuit.

7. In a heatin system, the combination of a 'a radiator, a va ve for the same, a pair of solenoid coil and .core for moving the valve in oppositedirection, and a circuit breaker in each solenoid circuit comprising a heat sensitive element adapted when heated and cooled to open and close said circuit.

/ 8. In a heating system, the. combination of a radiator, a valve to control circulation-' through the radiator, an electric motor to o erate'the valve, anda. circuit breaker in t e motorcircuit comprising .a bimetallic element-warped in opposite directions ato olpen and close said circuit and a resistance e ement in the motor circuit to heat said bimetallic element.

- 9. In a heating s'y'stem,th'e-combinatio n ofa radiator, a valve to control circulatlon through" the radiator, an electric motor ta motor circuit com rising"amovable conrate the valve, and acircugltbreaker in iis tact arm, a bimetallic ele ent? Warped-by heat to move thearm to circuitfopemng 15.0.

jsition, a resistance element'in the motor cir:-- cuit f or.heating' said bimetallic-element, and a spring which tends to hold thej arm in C11- cuit clo'dng 'tion.

of.a'irafliator, a valve to jfcontrol circulation through mandates-'1 an electric motor to faald a apted-t by heat-i element'in the u-itfor heating oted to the rocking member having a contact tion through the radiator, an electric motor to operate the valve, and a circuit breaker in the motor circuit comprising a by-metallic bar. adapted to be warped byheat, a resistance element in the motor circuit for heating said bar, an intermediately pivoted rocking element engaged at one end by the bar, a

contact arm plvoted at one end to a movable portion of the rocking element, a spring connecting the free ends of the rocking element 7 and the contact arm and extending over the pivot of the contact arm so that contraction of the spring will snap the contact arm to' either side of its pivot, a contact carried by the free end of the contact arm, 'a 'fixed contact with which the movable contact engages when the contact arm swing to one swinging movement of the contact arm to the other side of its pivot.

12. In a car heating system, the combination of a radiator, a valve to the radiator which is movable by hand automatic mechanism for moving said valve, and means operative repeatedly at intervals for actuating said automatic mechanism, in case the valve has been moved by hand, to give the valve a movement in the direction opposite to the movement given the valve by hand.

13. In a heating system, the combination of a radiator, a .valve to control circulation through the radiator, an electricmotor to operate the'valve, and means actuated by the flow of current-through the motor circuit :for intermittently breaking said circuit,

- 14. In combination with a valve, a pair of solenoid coils and core for moving the valve alternately in op osite directions, and means.

actuated by the ow of current through the solenoid circuits for intermittentlybreaking said circuits.

15. In combination with a valve, mechanism for moving the valve alternately in ,opposite directions comprising apair of electro-magnets, a switching means for sending current alternatelythrough said magnetic,

and a vibrating circuit beraker in each of the magnet circuits adapted to be actuated "intermittentlyby the current passingthrough side of its pivot, and a stop for limiting said circuit.

16. In a heating system, the combination of a radiator, a valve, an electro-magnet for operating said valve, a circuit breaker in the circuit of the electro-magnet actuated by flow of current through said circuit for closingi the circuit for relativelyv short periods an opening the same for longer periods.

PAUL BROWNLEE PARKS. 

